Hitachi has been awarded a £350 million contract to build 23 new trains for Avanti West Coast, the manufacturer has announced.

The 125mph intercity trains will be built at the firm's factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. They are expected to enter service south of the Border from 2022.

Avanti West Coast replaces Virgin Trains on the west coast route, which links London with towns and cities across England, North Wales and Scotland, from Sunday.

The operator is owned by First Trenitalia, a partnership between Aberdeen-based transport company FirstGroup and Italian firm Trenitalia.

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Andrew Barr, group chief executive of Hitachi's rail division, said: "Based on Japanese bullet train technology, our new trains have proven to be the modern intercity train of choice, increasing passenger satisfaction wherever they run.

"We're delighted to continue our excellent relationship with FirstGroup and Trenitalia, for whom we've delivered hundreds of trains across Italy and the UK.

"This new order, which will be built at our factory in the North East, is another vote of confidence in the success of our trains, which are both green and reliable."

The trains will be a mix of 10-carriage electric trains and 13 five-carriage bi-mode trains, which will switch from electric to diesel power where the railway is not electrified such as in North Wales.

The electric trains will run between London, the West Midlands and Liverpool, while the bi-modes will serve the London to North Wales route.

Hitachi said the bi-modes will be quieter for passengers compared with the diesel Class 221 Voyager trains they are replacing.

The new trains will have better and more reliable free wi-fi, at-seat wireless charging for electronic devices, plug sockets and USB slots, improved catering and a real-time passenger information system, according to the manufacturer.

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First Rail managing director Steve Montgomery said: "We look forward to beginning our Avanti West Coast services on Sunday 8 December, and these new trains will help us really improve travel for passengers with more services, more seats, a better journey experience, enhanced catering and added comfort."

Insurance firm Phoenix Group has bought rival ReAssure for £3.2 billion in cash and shares, the group has announced.

The deal is expected to generate additional cash flows of around £7 billion, including £2.7 billion over the next three years and a further £4.3 billion from 2024 onwards, the company said.

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ReAssure's parent company Swiss Re said it would get a cash payment of £1.2 billion for a stake in Phoenix of 13% to 17% while ReAssure's minority shareholder, MS&AD Insurance Group will receive shares in Phoenix representing an 11% to 15% stake.

The deal cements Phoenix's position as Europe's largest life and pensions consolidator, with £329 billion assets under its control, with 14.1 million policies

Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco has announced a stock price of 32 riyals, or $8.53 per share, laying the groundwork for a $25.6 billion sale in what could be the biggest initial public offering (IPO) in history.

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The figure released on Thursday also affirms a $1.7 trillion valuation for Aramco, exceeding both Microsoft and Apple.

The sale is part of a plan by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to sell a 1.5% stake in the country's crown jewel to help fuel the kingdom's economy.